Baseball throwing device

ABSTRACT

A portable baseball throwing device that is treadle-cocked and trigger releasable. The device further has an adjustable tension spring which serves to actuate a throwing arm which is cocked when the aforementioned treadle is depressed to that a depending foot on the treadle contacts the ground. The throwing arm is channel-shaped with an adjustable ball stop positioned across the channel and further with a frictional rub strip attached to each wall of the channel for accurate positioning of a baseball. For this same reason, the ball chute feeding the throwing arm has finger slots in it. The throwing arm is surrounded by a cage to protect the user of the device.

United States Patent Luebkemaln Mar. M, 11972 [54] BASEBALL THROWING DEVICE 1,162,910 12/1915 Goude ..124/7 [72] Inventor: George C. Luebkeman, 115 Mt. Nebo g g Road Cleves Ohio 45002 easeye a 3,406,674 10/1968 Zone ..l24/7 [22] Filed: Apr. 20, 1970 Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham PP 29,859 Assistant Examiner-R. T. Stouffer Att0rney-Walter S. Murray [52] 11.8.0 ..124/7, H t/3615123611, [57] ABSTRACT [51] int. Cl. ..A63b 69/40 A portable baseball throwing device that is treadle-cocked [58] Field of Search ..124/7, 20 A, 36, 41, 50; and trigger releasable. The device further has an adjustable 27 3/26 D tension spring which serves to actuate a throwing arm which is cocked when the aforementioned treadle is depressed to that a 56] Ref en e Ci d depending foot on the treadle contacts the ground. The throwing arm is channel-shaped with an ad ustable ball stop posi- UNITED STATES PATENTS tioned across the channel and further with a frictional rub strip attached to each wall of the channel for accurate posig 6/1966 tioning of a baseball. For this same reason, the ball chute feedl,2 l Boardman the throwing am has finger Slots in it. The throwing arm is g g; i surrounded by a cage to protect the user of the device. 202,301 4/1878 12 Claims, 8 Drawing Figurm I? 1 l d T 91F) 1 l 1 I 25' 69 l l e/ 39 11 G L /o I I l 26 a: 5/

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Patented March 14, 1972 INVENTOR George CILmAeman BASEBALL THROWING DEVICE The present invention relates to improvements in baseball throwing devices and is particularly directed to a pitching device that will afford batting practice to youths and beginners desirous of acquiring the skills of playing baseball.

It is well recognized by coaches and those especially interested in boys baseball teams that it requires considerable skill to consistently pitch a baseball within the relatively restricted strike zones of the boys during batting practice and much time is consumed in throwing acceptable pitches to each boy of a team to provide them with sufficient batting practice within a prescribed period of time.

It is therefore the main object of the invention to provide a relatively simplified, portable yet accurate device that may be readily set up and operated on a practice field to consistently pitch baseballs within the limited strike zones of youthful members of a baseball team.

Another object of the invention is to provide an accurate treadle-cocked, trigger releasable baseball pitching device that is particularly adapted for batting practice and that will consistently deliver a succession of regulation baseballs to youthful batters within the strike zone but may also be used with few adjustments for infield and outfield practice.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my baseball throwing machine.

In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate similar parts throughout the several views:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of my baseball throwing device shown in normal latched position, the dotted lines showing the several parts in relaxed positions just after delivery of a baseball.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5 through 8 are sections on lines 5-5 through 8-8, respectively, of FIG. 4.

With particular reference to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, my baseball throwing device 9 has a narrow cage 10 supported upon four corner standards 11 which are mounted at their lower ends to a horizontal, rectangularly shaped base frame 12. The base frame is firmly supported on the ground by tripod legs 13, each leg having a disc shaped foot member 14 with a depending earth penetrating spike 15 thereon. As best depicted in FIG. 3 the two rear tripod legs are laterally spaced apart and project outwardly and rearwardly from the base frame while the remaining single tripod leg depends from the central forward end of said base frame. The pair of rear legs are provided by a detachable U-shaped channel member 16 secured to the base frame by wing nuts 17 for compact transportation of the device. One of the rear legs has a foot member mounted for vertical adjustment thereon by means of an externally threaded shaft 18 that is threaded in a nut 19 carried by the leg, a hand wheel 20 being secured to the upper end of the shaft to provide proper leveling of the device upon the ground. All of the foregoing structural members except the detachable rear legs are preferably angle irons welded or otherwise secured together at their intersecting ends.

The cage 10 comprises a pair of laterally spaced apart side frames 21 and 22 rigidly connected together at the back of the cage by a plate 23 and a cross bar 24; each frame having stretched across it an expanded metal sheet 25 and 26, respectively, to guard against accidental insertion of the human hands into the caged area.

A baseball throwing arm 27 is pivotally mounted for rocking movement within the cage on a cross-pin 28 that is anchored at its ends in the side frames, said arm being normally inclined downwardly and forwardly in its latched position. With reference to FIGS. 46 of the drawing, the arm 27 is generally channel-shaped in lateral section and has a bottom wall 29 and side walls 30 and 31 whose upper portions 32 and 33, respectively, flare upwardly and outwardly with respect to the arm. As best shown in FIG. 6, a bearing tube 34 is rotatably mounted on the pin 28 and passes through aligned holes 35- 35 in the side walls of the arm; said tube being welded to the side walls at said contact points. A longitudinal row 36 and 37 of upwardly opening teeth are formed in the free ends of the flared portions 32 and 33, respectively; a baseball positioning bar 38 being mounted for longitudinal adjustment on the arm by manual insertion into laterally opposed teeth in the rows 36 and 37. A contractile spring 39 surrounds the arm and has its ends hooked into holes 40 and 41 on the sides of the bar to permit adjustment of the bar in the rows of teeth and to hold the bar in selected positions on the arm. As best shown in FIGS. 4-7 the outwardly flared portions 32 and 33 of the arm each has secured to its inner face a baseball engaging rub strip 42 which is preferably made of rubber or other friction material cemented to a backing plate 413 in turn detachably secured to the flaring portion by screws 124 for replacement purposes.

With particular reference to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings, my device is provided with a treadle 44 that has its forward end pivoted on a laterally extending rod 4.5 anchored in the forward standards 11-ll1 just above the base 12; said treadle in it relaxed position being inclined upwardly and rearwardly above the base and having its free end projecting beyond the back of the device and within the vertical extension lines of the two rearwardly projecting tripod legs 13. A shoe contacting plate 46 is secured to the free end of the treadle and has a ground engaging foot 47 that is elongated to an extent which will arrest the downward movement of the treadle before it comes into contact with the channel member 16 and a cross member 48 of the base 12, as depicted by the dotted line showing of the treadle in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

A resiliently contractile arm actuating means 49 is connected between the arm 27 and the treadle 44 and with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings a heavy contractile spring 50 has its upper end connected to a chain 51 and as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 8 of the drawings the upper end of the chain is linked to a follower 52 that fixedly engages the central portion of a sleeve bearing 53. A cross pin 54 is positioned in the side walls 30 and 31 on the forward end of the arm a short distance in front of the arm pivot pin 28 and passes through the bearing 53, said cross pin 54 being secured against axial movement by cotter pins 55-55 in the free ends of the said pin. The bottom end of the spring is linked to the upper end of a turnbuckle 56 and the lower end of the turnbuckle is connected to a cross shaft 57 positioned on the treadle a relatively short distance rearwardly of its pivot pin 45. A wing nut 58 is threaded to one of the turnbuckle screws to lock the tumbuckle against rotation in a selected spring tensioning position.

A tether chain 59 has one end linked to the lower end of the spring 50 and its lower end connected to the machine base 12, said chain being in extended position when the spring 50 is in the relaxed position shown in FIGS. I and 2 of the drawing. This chain serves to anchor the spring, against violent upward movement beyond that shown in the Figure in the event the operators foot accidentally slips from the treadle as the latter is being cocked.

A pair of contractile treadle returns springs 60-60 extend through the spring 50 and have their lower ends hooked to the lowermost coil of said spring 50, their upper ends extending through the upper end of the spring 50 and secured to the cage frame members 21 and 22. After the machine has been operated the treadle is in its lowermost position, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, said springs 6060 being operative to return the treadle to its uppermost full line position. A contractile spring 61 (FIG. 4) has one end engaged in a hook 62 formed on the forward end of the arm, its opposed end being secured to the frame member 22 and adapted to return the arm 27 to its fully latched position after a throwing operation. Turnbuckle adjustment on the spring 50 will control the speed of the baseball thrown with my device.

A trigger means for the arm comprises a catch 63 (FIG. 4) positioned on the rear undersurface of the arm bottom wall 29, said catch cooperating with a manually operated lever 64 to hold the arm in latched position. As best shown in FIG. 5 one end of the lever is pivoted at 65 on the frame 22 and has its free end projecting laterally beyond the frame 21, said free end being provided with a suitable hand grip 66. The lever is biased rearwardly by a contractile spring 67 and the catch is provided with a downwardly and rearwardly inclined boss 68 which engages the lever to urge it forwardly and then permit the spring 67 to move the lever into the latched position with the catch shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

A baseball chute 69 is positioned on the rear face of the cage back plate 23 and as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7 comprises an upstanding polygonally shaped wall 70 which has an inclined baffle 71 therein disposed in the longitudinal extension plane of the ball contacting surfaces of the rub strips 42-42 on the arm, the lower edge 72 of the plate 23 terminating above the baffle to provide a baseball exit opening for movement of the ball from the chute 69 onto the said rub strips. Vertical slots 73 and 74 are formed in opposite sides of the ball chute for insertion of the thumb and finger into the slots to manipulate a baseball dropped into the open end 75 of the chute.

With reference to FIGS. 4, 5 an 7 of the drawings a ball keeper spring 76 is disposed across the upper end of the baseball exit opening of the chute 69 to releasably hold a baseball in the intermediate chute position depicted in dotted lines in FIG. 4 of the drawings. In order to secure optimum accuracy and consistency for each baseball thrown with my device the same baseball seam disposition must be maintained for all the balls when in throwing position on the arm. In this respect with the baseball releasably held in the chute on the spring 76 its rotatory position may be manually adjusted by the act of inserting a thumb and finger through the chute slots 73 and 74 and the ball turned until the seams are in a predetermined position. When the desired ball position is attained it is pushed downwardly past the spring and allowed to fall on the chute baffle 71 and thence under the spring 76, through the chute exit opening 72 and to then roll down the arm on the rub strips 42-42 until it stops in throwing position against the bar 38. For less accurate, random ball throwing results a second ball is entered into the opening 75 of the chute and pushed downwardly on the ball in the intermediate spring held position which will release said ball and allow it to fall by gravity out of the chute into throwing position on the arm.

With reference to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings the numeral 77 indicates a plate adapted to rest upon the surface of the ground in position to be engaged by the treadle foot 47 in its lowermost position. The plate is disposed between the pair of rear legs 13 and connected thereto in foot contacting position by chains 78-78. This plate may be attached to the device especially when the ground is loose or impressionable to provide a positive lower stop for the cocked position of the treadle.

OPERATION It will therefore be understood from the foregoing detailed description that my baseball throwing device has a simplified, yet rugged, construction and may be readily transported to a playfield and there easily set up and adjusted to consecutively pitch regulation baseballs across the strike zone of youthful batters and may alternately be used to toss baseballs for infield and outfield practice. For pitching purposes the device is set up at the usual pitchers position relative to a home plate and then simple adjustments are made on the tension of the spring 50, the baseball positioning bar 38 and the foot hand wheel 20 by trial an error until the desired speed and ball trajectory is obtained to insure that each ball thrown will pass through the strike zone.

To pitch a ball with my machine having its parts in the positions shown in the drawings one hand of the operator grasps a handle 79 mounted on the opposite side of the cage from the lever 66. A regulation baseball to be thrown is then dropped into the chute 69 upon the keeper spring 76, the free hand of the operator being used to initially place the ball seams in a controlled position by rotating it with the thumb and finger through the slots 73 and 74 in the chute. The baseball is then manually urged downwardly past the spring 76 and it then rolls by gravity underneath the lower edge 72 of the plate 23 onto the friction rub strips 42-42 of thearm and in throwing position up against the bar 38. With the lever 64 in latched position the operator, without regard to his weight, steps on the treadle plate 46 and the treadle depressed until the foot 47 of the treadle plate comes in contact with the ground, or when necessary upon the ground positioned plate 77 chained at 78-78 to the channel shaped member 16. As the foot 47 is stopped by the ground the spring 50 is in the required tension for throwing the baseball. The lever 64 is then manually released and under tension of the spring the arm will swing upwardly around its pivot pin 28 throwing the baseball into a desired trajectory. The keeper spring 76 and the slots 73 and 74 in the ball chute afford a manual means for initially adjusting the rotatory disposition of the baseball seams before it rolls onto the arm 27 into throwing position against the bar 38 thus obtaining the same throwing position for each ball and assuring very accurate control of successive ball trajectories thrown by my device.

After a baseball is thrown with my device the parts will be in the positions shown in dotted lines in FIG. I of the drawings. Upon removal of the operators foot from the treadle 44 the springs 60-60 will return the treadle and the spring 50 to their full line, relaxed positions, the spring 61 (FIG. 4) retuming the arm 27 to its full line position with sufficient force so that the inclined boss 68 on the arm will trip the lever 64 against the action of its spring 67 (FIG. 5) and cause the arm to be held by the lever in latched position to receive the next baseball thereon. It will be noted that the actuating spring 50 is normally in relaxed position until a baseball is to be thrown, thereby precluding accidental tripping of the device.

Although my baseball throwing device has been heretofore described in conjunction with batting practice it will be understood that it may also be used to advantage for infield and outfield practice by adjusting the bar 38 on the arm 27 to throw grounders or fly balls", respectively. In this regard when the bar is adjusted to positions close to the arm pivot pin 28 ground balls are thrown for infield practice while adjustment of the bar 38 on the free end portion of the arm will condition the device to throw fly balls" for outfield practice. Manifestly intermediate positions of the bar on the arm will cause the device to pitch baseballs for batting practice. In the latter instance once the bar position and spring tension are adjusted the device will pitch baseballs into the strike zone with a minimum variation in trajectories from pitch to pitch and very accurate pitches are obtained by manually adjusting the baseballs held by the spring 76 in the chute so that the seams will be in the same position as each ball leaves the arm for propulsion into its trajectory.

An important factor in the securement of consistent ball throwing characteristics attained with my device are the wedge or V-shaped upper portions 32 and 33 of the side walls 30 and 31 of the throwing arm and the ball engaging friction rub strips 42-42 on said portions. As a baseball is being impelled by the arm, the two-point angularity and frictional engagement of the rub strips on the ball initiates rotation of the ball around a horizontal axis without slipping and successive balls leave the throwing arm at substantially the same rotatory I speeds and into substantially the same trajectories. The rub strips preclude wear or tear on the ball covers and said strips may be replaced when worn by reason of their detachable backing plates.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for throwing a succession of balls along similar trajectories comprising a base, ground engaging feet depending from the base, a rockable ball throwing arm, horizontal bearing means mounting the arm upon the base, a depressable treadle pivoted for vertical movement on the base and normally having it free end disposed above and extending beyond the base, a ground contacting foot member connected to said free end of the treadle and depending therefrom a distance greater than the height of the base above the ground, a resilient arm actuating means connected at its upper end to one end of the arm and having its lower end connected to the treadle, a ball chute means on the base adapted to direct a ball into throwing position on the arm, and a normally latched and manually releasable trigger means mounted on the base and associated with the arm, the device being in fully cocked position when the treadle is depressed by the operator and the foot member comes in contact with the ground.

2. A ball throwing device set forth in claim 1 wherein the ground engaging feet include a pair of laterally spaced apart feet extending horizontally from the base, and the treadle has swinging motion within the vertical extension lines of said laterally spaced apart feet.

3. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 2 wherein a ground positioned plate is flexibly connected between the pair of laterally spaced apart feet in position to stop the ground contacting foot member on the treadle.

d. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the spaced apart feet depend from a detachable portion of the base.

5. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim ll wherein the resilient arm actuating means is a contractile spring, and a tether chain is connected in stretched out condition between the lower end of the spring and the base when the treadle is in normal position.

6. A device for throwing a succession of balls along similar trajectories comprising a base, ground engaging feet depending from the base, a channel shaped throwing arm having opposed, upwardly and outwardly flaring and laterally spaced apart, flat side walls for receiving, positioning and throwing a ball there between, horizontal bearing means rockably mounting the am on the base, a depressable treadle pivoted on the base for vertical movement, an elastic arm actuating means connected at its upper end to the arm and having its lower end connected to the treadle, a releasable trigger means mounted on the base and adapted to normally latch the arm in an inclined position with respect to the horizontal, a ball stop means adapted to be selectively positioned along the longitudinal extent of the throwing arm, and a ball chute means on the base having an inclined bottom wall lying in the ball engaging plane of the arm and having a ball exit opening adjacent to and disposed in longitudinal alignment with the free end of the arm.

7. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 6 wherein the top edge portion of each side wall has a longitudinal row of upwardly opening teeth therein, and the ball stop means is a bar adapted for insertion into a selected pair of laterally opposed teeth in the rows.

8. A ball throwing device set forth in claim 7 wherein a contractile spring encircles the arm and has each end connected to an end of the bar.

9. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 6 wherein the ball chute has a pair of laterally opposed finger and thumb entrance slots formed in its side wall adapted to permit manual rotation of the ball in the chute into a desired rotatory position, preparatory to its movement into a throwing position of the arm.

10. A ball throwing device set forth in claim 9 wherein a lateral keeper spring extends across an intermediate portion of the chute and above the ball exit opening of said chute.

11. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 6 wherein a frictional, ball engaging rub strip is secured to each of the channel side walls.

12. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 11 wherein the rub strip is composed of a resilient material. 

1. A device for throwing a succession of balls along similar trajectories comprising a base, ground engaging feet depending from the base, a rockable ball throwing arm, horizontal bearing means mounting the arm upon the base, a depressable treadle pivoted for vertical movement on the base and normally having it free end disposed above and extending beyond the base, a ground contacting foot member connected to said free end of the treadle and depending therefrom a distance greater than the height of the base above the ground, a resilient arm actuating means connected at its upper end to one end of the arm and having its lower end connected to the treadle, a ball chute means on the base adapted to direct a ball into throwing position on the arm, and a normally latched and manually releasable trigger means mounted on the base and associated with the arm, the device being in fully cocked position when the treadle is depressed by the operator and the foot member comes in contact with the ground.
 2. A ball throwing device set forth in claim 1 wherein the ground engaging feet include a pair of laterally spaced apart feet extending horizontally from the base, and the treadle has swinging motion within the vertical extension lines of said laterally spaced apart feet.
 3. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 2 wherein a ground positioned plate is flexibly connected between the pair of laterally spaced apart feet in position to stop the ground contacting foot member on the treadle.
 4. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the spaced apart feet depend from a detachable portion of the base.
 5. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the resilient arm actuating means is a contractile spring, and a tether chain is connected in stretched out condition between the lower end of the spring and the base when the tReadle is in normal position.
 6. A device for throwing a succession of balls along similar trajectories comprising a base, ground engaging feet depending from the base, a channel shaped throwing arm having opposed, upwardly and outwardly flaring and laterally spaced apart, flat side walls for receiving, positioning and throwing a ball there between, horizontal bearing means rockably mounting the arm on the base, a depressable treadle pivoted on the base for vertical movement, an elastic arm actuating means connected at its upper end to the arm and having its lower end connected to the treadle, a releasable trigger means mounted on the base and adapted to normally latch the arm in an inclined position with respect to the horizontal, a ball stop means adapted to be selectively positioned along the longitudinal extent of the throwing arm, and a ball chute means on the base having an inclined bottom wall lying in the ball engaging plane of the arm and having a ball exit opening adjacent to and disposed in longitudinal alignment with the free end of the arm.
 7. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 6 wherein the top edge portion of each side wall has a longitudinal row of upwardly opening teeth therein, and the ball stop means is a bar adapted for insertion into a selected pair of laterally opposed teeth in the rows.
 8. A ball throwing device set forth in claim 7 wherein a contractile spring encircles the arm and has each end connected to an end of the bar.
 9. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 6 wherein the ball chute has a pair of laterally opposed finger and thumb entrance slots formed in its side wall adapted to permit manual rotation of the ball in the chute into a desired rotatory position, preparatory to its movement into a throwing position of the arm.
 10. A ball throwing device set forth in claim 9 wherein a lateral keeper spring extends across an intermediate portion of the chute and above the ball exit opening of said chute.
 11. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 6 wherein a frictional, ball engaging rub strip is secured to each of the channel side walls.
 12. A ball throwing device as set forth in claim 11 wherein the rub strip is composed of a resilient material. 